The yellow water lily demands attention in a water garden pond.
Over the year we get many inquiries for water plants and a larger percentage of these, for some reason, are during winter, when there are not many available.
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This is because a fair amount of the aquatic plants go dormant as the water temperature drops.
Right now, though, there is a huge range on offer.
But care needs to be taken so that you are selecting the right plant for purpose,and that you are not selecting a plant that is going to give you or the environment grief in the long run.
Many of the aquatic plants that, while they may look pretty or interesting, have the potential to grow quickly and become invasive.
Quite a few are classed as environmental weeds across different areas and from state to state.
The four-leafed clover leaf of the spreading Nardoo will take off and fill any free surface it can find.
Water gardens are popular because they create a cooling green, fresh show.
Yet they can still manage to inadvertently make their way into people’s gardens, a good example of this is water lettuce, which we still get a lot of inquires for.
So, care should be taken when propagating or growing water or bog plants and be sure to know what you are growing and its weed potential.
This is particularly important if your water garden drains into natural waterways.
Having said all that, if you are looking for aquatic plants for your water garden, now is the time to have a look around because most of them are coming into their prime.
Aquatic plants can be divided into about five planting areas depending on their requirements and growth habits.
They are:
Pond edges and boggy areas for plants like tassel rushes, irises, pennywort and acorus.
Floating plants like azolla.
Marginal and partial submerged plants up to 20cm deep like water Iirises, milfoils, water ribbons and some grasses.
Shallow submerged plants to the depth of about 40cm like water poppies, water fringe, miniature water lilies, and larger growing rushes and reeds.
Deep submerged plants for areas of 40cm plus like water lilies, and leafy elodea
When selecting your pond plants these depths need to be considered along with pond size, the amount of sunlight, the permanence of the water levels and the amount of maintenance you are prepared to put into the upkeep of the pond.
The goal is to achieve a balanced mini ecosystem within the pond and surrounding area.
The balance is between nutrient load in the water from run off, leaf litter falling into the pond and fish against the number and type of plants and bacteria in the pond.
When these get out of balance you start to get trouble with problem algae, plant growth, water clarity and fish health if they are in the mix.
Water plants help remove the nutrients from the pond as they have absorbed them through their leaves and roots.
This robs algae of the nutrients they require to grow and helps keep it in check.
Aquatic plants also trap sediment around their roots and leaves further helping with water clarity.
Emerging and floating foliage offer protection and shade for fish and frogs to spawn in, while also protecting other plants in the pond.
In the Garden Centre's Aquatic plants pond we have a nice range of advanced water lilies starting to flower with yellow, apricot, red, white and pink all flowering together.
The water poppies are also flowering with their smaller yellow flowers with black throats.
While the miniature water lilies have still not budded.
The four-leafed clover leaf of spreading Nardoo has certainly taken off, popping up in any free surface space it can find.
Emerging plants like Amazon Queen with its metallic, purple to green leaves and darker stems are starting to develop their impressive leaf size along with the green taro elephant ears.
The King Tutt Papyrus is also starting to shoot up with its large feathery, tassel-like flower heads appearing on their long stems.
Another interesting plant to look for is the Court Jester, named for its brightly coloured and patterned variegated foliage which can grow in shallow water or in boggy soil around the pond edges.
Then there is the Elodea, which has taken off as the water temperature has increased and the fish are loving it, hiding among the long fluffy strands that grow up from the bottom of the pond.
All combined, it does make quite a show, and it is easy to see why water gardens are so popular.
If you are considering building a pond or water garden at home, it is worth dropping in to get some ideas.
We can also advise you on pond liners, pumps, filters, garden/pond lighting, pond care products as well as the know-how to get you on the way.
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